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(FT) – The European Central Bank confounded monetary hawks by extending its economic stimulus programme until at least September next year, pushing down the euro as investors digested Mario Draghi’s refusal to call the end to emergency crisis-era measures. Although the ECB announced its stimulative bond purchases will be halved to €30bn a month, the…

MADRID (Reuters) – The upper house of Spain’s parliament on Friday authorized the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to rule Catalonia directly from Madrid, minutes after the restive region declared independence from Spain. Rajoy is now expected to convene his cabinet to adopt the first measures to govern Catalonia. This could include firing the…

BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s parliament declared independence from Spain on Friday in defiance of the Madrid government, which at the same time was preparing to impose direct rule over the region. Although the declaration was in effect a symbolic gesture as it will not be accepted by Spain or the international community, the moves by…

ATHENS (Reuters) – A potential deal with the United States to upgrade dozens of Greece’s F-16 fighter jets is not expected to harm its fiscal progress and should not worry its EU lenders, a Greek government spokesman said on Thursday. Defense spending has been reduced during Greece’s seven-year debt crisis, which shrank the size…

MADRID (Reuters – Spanish cabinet was meeting on Saturday to prepare to impose direct rule on Catalonia to stop the region seperating from Spain. It will be the first time in Spain’s four decades of democracy that Madrid has invoked the constitutional right to take control of a region and rule it directly from Madrid.…

SYDNEY ( Sitnok Global) – Bitcoin reached a record high of more than $6,000 on Friday, pushing its market capitalization to $100 billion, as investors bet on an asset that has a limited supply. This may be the result of increase of crypto-currencies coming to market. The original virtual currency has gained over 500…

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s central government threatened on Thursday to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy after the region’s leader said it could go ahead with a formal declaration of independence if Madrid continued its “repression” Catalan President Carles Puigdemont arrives to attend the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT) extraordinary national council meeting in Barcelona, Spain October 18,…